Power vs. representation: feminist dilemmas, ambivalent state and the debate on reservation for women in India
Year: 1998
Type: article
Abstract: The women's quota (81st Constitutional Amendment) Bill providing for one-third reservation of women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies was hanging fire for some time, and has now been put in cold storage. The current debate on the Bill (prior to the dissolution of the Lok Sabha) has raised a host of questions- relating to liberal democracy, egalitarianism and the under representation of women; interest-group politics and the political inclusion and exclusion of certain identifiable group interests; the notion of 'participatory democracy ' and the relationship between women's political representation and processes of further democratisation; the normative basis of demands for equality and social justice; the meaning of equal opportunity and the need for more vigorous advocacy and positive intervention on behalf of women. Feminist perspectives on the state, democracy and notions of political equality and participation have emphasised that without formal mechanisms for ensuring women's representation in political structures it will not be possible for women to cross formidable barriers to their entry into active electoral politics. Democratisation and representative institutions while setting the terms for citizen's participation, also provide the framework for political activity. Inequalities that characterise our social
Author: Kumud Sharma
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2590366384